The weather was fitting.
The skies were bleak and there was an eerie feel to the wind as it blew her blonde hair around her face. There were quite a few people gathered, listening to the soft moans and cries of the sea of loved ones around her. Eulogy after eulogy, people sobbed. She was shocked to see even his mother cry, she invited her out of duty and obligation – not because she felt like his mother would actually care. But there stood Beverly Hofstadter, wailing and mourning over her son's death.
Their friends were huddled, holding onto each other with tear-stained cheeks – some more than others. It was a sad scene; one she wishes she never had to witness. His very own best friend, stood there with his wife tucked into his arms, her small frame shaking uncontrollably as she tried to make sense of it all. She couldn't, the science wasn't right. He just rubbed her back soothingly, it was the most calming she's ever seen the bowl-cut male. Then there was the quiet Indian, she could see the tears glistening in his eyes, threatening to fall, as he tried his damnedest to keep it together. His sister was paying her respects as well, and she stood by her brother consoling him as much as she could.
"Leonard was a good man—"
She clutched the black handkerchief in her fingers and glanced around, her eyes falling upon a stocky female. Limp brown hair, and large rimmed glasses, she walked around greeting people and wishing them well. She was doing a hell of a lot better a job than she was herself. She couldn't bring herself to comfort people while her husband was being buried six feet underground, she couldn't bring herself to tell someone 'I'm sorry for your loss', she was the widow. She followed the brunette with curious eyes as she made her way to Leonard's mother.
It was then she was grateful for the large black sunglasses that shielded her face from everyone else. The last thing she wanted was to be caught watching her 'Bestie'.
"He made me laugh constantly, he was very good at making you feel better—"
She could feel him before she could see him, her eyes darted quickly, and she felt like the air was knocked out of her lungs. He was tall and brooding, standing off on his own – like she was, under a large oak tree. His hands buried deep in his black trench coat pockets, he held her stare. His own baby blues shielded by black frames. It was as if they had an understanding, they were both in mourning having both lost an important piece of their lives. She watched behind shielded eyes as someone approached him and he simply nodded, never breaking eye contact with her.
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Penelope."
She was pulled out of her thoughts when a much older woman, she recognized as his grandmother, approached her. Nose upturned, she wore a frown, "You two were so much in love, it reminded me of my Phillip and me. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for me," she sympathized. The blonde gave a small smile and nodded. "Thank you, Nonna."
The grey-haired woman continued. "Whoever did this to my Leonard is a monster from hell," she said with a deepening frown, "Those policemen need to do their job and catch the damn criminal. You know my grandson was a very smart man, many many people were envious of that." She droned. "He had a successful career and a beautiful wife, of course he had enemies. Between the two of us, I know it's someone he worked with. He was on his way to becoming one of those Einstein men," she nodded.
Penny let her eyes drift and saw someone beckoning her.
"Of course, but I have to go thank you." She wasn't sure why she was thanking the woman, but it felt appropriate.
After all the eulogies were said, she was expected to make her own speech. She prepared for this moment, she rehearsed it in her head over and over again, the mirror in their shared home was worn with her tears and her words. So, she stood in front of her peers some friends and some family, and she cleared her throat.
"Leonard Hofstadter was a colleague, a son, a friend, and my husband." Her voice was coarse, not having had been used in a few hours and it burned with the sobs that wracked her body in the night. "When I married Leonard and became Penelope Hofstadter, I said 'til death do us 'part', never did I think that day would come so soon. Leonard was taken from us; he was selfishly taken from me—"
As she drove herself home, many thoughts kept flooding her mind. Mostly, she was a widow now; someone had murdered her husband in cold blood. The coroner said it looked like an animal attack, as if he was mauled. Though, she knew that was impossible, so did the investigators. They lived in the heart of the city, there wasn't any wildlife around here. They believed someone staged his murder to look like a freak accident, and that was all they had to go on. His grandmother was furious, because of their lack of skills she had to bury her grandson closed casket.
"Don't you think it's time to start a family, Penny?" She could hear the hope in his voice, and it made her feel bad as she shut him down. "I'm not ready."
She glanced at her rear-view mirror and spotted a sleek black car following her.
"Why do I always get the feeling that you're avoiding our future together? We're married for christ's sake, Penny!"
She watched him stand off their bed as he paced the floor, temper high and frustration radiating off of him. "I'm tired of feeling like my wife doesn't want me, I do everything for you and the least you can do is at least kiss me without me having to ask you. If you were that repulsed by me, you shouldn't have fucking agreed to marry me!"
Penny's eyebrow shot up. "You do everything for me? Leonard all you do is undermine me and attack me for being less educated than you. We have different dreams; my dreams would be hindered if I got pregnant. How's that fair to me?" Her voice just as loud as his.
"Oh yeah," he taunted, "Your dream of becoming an actress, there you go in Penny-land again."
She only wished she could say her last words to him, perhaps change them. Let him know how she really felt, because it wasn't fair that he was gone now, and he has no idea how she feels inside. She was left with the prying eyes and nosy neighbors, the nonstop casseroles, and the never-ending questions. She walked into her house, it was dark, and it was quiet, it felt different already. She knew she was going to have to move, she couldn't live there knowing she shared a bedroom with a man who was now dead.
"You know what, fuck you, Leonard."
He scoffed. "That would be the first in almost a month, wouldn't it?" They leveled each other with a glare before he turned on his heel, "I'm heading out."
It was after she heard him pull out of the driveway, she noticed he left his phone on their nightstand table in their bedroom. She always had great gut instincts, and she always followed them.
"It's done."
She nodded her head as the tall male walked into her home, locking the door behind him. "I told you it would be."
He stalked towards her, taking long strides until they were standing chest to chest. Sunglasses long gone, they stared into each other's eyes green meeting blue in an intense fiery gaze. It was like she was seeing the universe behind his eyes; she didn't need to read his mind or have a conversation with him, she could tell what he was thinking just by the expression in his eyes and by the shade of the blue. They left her breathless.
"Sheldon…"
He loved the way his name left her lips, he had countless of dreams of her saying his name over and over again. Whispering it, yelling it, it was the only word he ever wanted her to say again. Slowly, he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him, his other hand wounding itself in her hair.
"Penelope."
She reached up on her toes and let her lips graze his. It was quick and chaste, but it left a mouthful of flavour behind. She watched as his tongue darted out and licked the lip she kissed, his eyes darkening. He quickly darted his head down and captured her lips in a more fervent and heated kiss, her whimper filling his eardrums.
iMessage: A
A: Have you left yet?
Leonard: No, I'm waiting for Penny to get out of the shower first.
A: Why do you have to wait for her? I miss you.
Leonard: You'll have me all weekend, babe.
—
iMessage: A
Leonard: Are you mad at me?
Leonard: Babe, please don't be mad. You know I had no choice.
A: You didn't have to propose to her, Leonard. You know Sheldon would've never proposed to me. You love her more than you love me.
Leonard: You know that's not true.
A: Is that why you wanted me to get that abortion?
Leonard: We're not doing this right now.
—
iMessage: A
A: Despite it being your wedding, you looked very handsome today.
Leonard: Thank you, but I thought we agreed not to text today, Amy.
A: Amy? Does calling me Amy instead of babe less the guilt you feel for cheating on your wife?
They were in her bedroom, her jeans stripped off and her blouse hanging off her shoulder. Sheldon was making quick work, kissing all over her body as he holds her legs up and around his waist, his fingers digging into her thigh as she ground her center on him. He slams her against the wall by her door, effectively creating a large crack going down the dry wall and his lips move along her jaw, towards her ear, and then down her neck slowing at her pulse point. Licking it, he could feel her body temperature rise. He sucked it gently, feeling the blood flow rapidly in her veins as he left marks along her collarbone and neck. He would mark her in every way he could.
He came home at two in the morning that night, she could smell the beer on his breath before he even entered their bedroom.
She sat perfectly still in their bed, reading a magazine she was only half interested in. Oddly, she wasn't upset upon finding out her husband had been cheating on her for years, she was more vengeful than anything. How dare he waste all these years of her life and try to make her feel guilty for the choices she's making, when he's been stepping out on her this entire time.
He enters their bedroom, slightly stumbling over himself but quickly shoots her a glance before starting towards their bathroom.
"You left your phone on the nightstand." She says it nonchalantly.
He glances at it and then nods. "I figured. I couldn't find it in the car."
She sets the magazine down and faces him, he looks flushed, and she can't help but think he's probably just getting back from seeing 'A', again. "Lots of texts from someone named 'A'."
He pauses momentarily. "Oh, did you read it?"
"Should I have?"
They're on her bed, the same bed everything happened on, the same bed that marked the beginning of her new life. She's exhilarated and he rips her blouse off her body, exposing her chest to him. She sees the eagerness in his face, and she's thrilled he feels the same way she does. She knew he did, she always did.
"I'm going to make you mine."
She nods, she doesn't want it any other way.
He bends his neck, hovering over her small frame, and he licks from her collarbone to her ear. He could feel her pulse and he can smell her everywhere; he's intoxicated by her and he feels his willpower and control slipping away as he gets drunk off her taste and smell. She's quivering underneath him, almost squirming with anticipation, and his eyes go dark — almost black, and he's sinking his sharp teeth into the pulse on her neck, piercing it. She's moaning loudly as she feels him suck and consume her.
"You're cheating on me, Leonard." She's frank.
He doesn't say anything for a moment, a long moment, and she's aware he's trying to find an excuse or a justification as to why he's cheating. But she doesn't give him the time. "And you're doing it with Amy, muchless."
That shocks him back to reality. "You went through my phone? What happened to trust!"
She wants to laugh because did he really just say that? "Isn't that something you should've asked yourself the first time you slept with one of my friends behind my back?" He's red in the face and his chest is puffed out, but it does nothing to affect her. She already has her plan in action, she's already informed Sheldon how much of a cheater his girlfriend is. Leonard did this to himself.
He's in her. He's sheathed himself in her and she feels as full as she can be, each thrust is more vigorous than the last and it leaves her breathless. His hands go to the headboard and he clenches down on it as he picks up his speed, discovering parts of her that went undiscovered before. Her moans are loud, but what's louder is the crack! they hear when Sheldon's hands break through the wooden headboard. They roll over with ease and Penny decides to start riding him with the same vigorous speed he was using.
Her neck is pulsating, and her thighs are bruised, but she doesn't care. His eyes are gold, and she knows that means hers are too. She leans down and they share an earth-shattering kiss, and she nips at his lip with her sharpened teeth. She was in love with this man, and he had made her forever his because he loved her just as much.
He's in shock.
One minute he was standing by the bathroom and the next he was on the bed, his body bouncing off from the force of the throw. "Penny?"
Penny knew she had two options, deal with it the way she wanted to or walk away from Leonard and let him play her like a fool, have him feel like he won. No, she couldn't have him think that.
The last thing Leonard ever saw was his wife's black eyes and fang-like teeth.
Both of them lay there, she was grinning, and he held her tightly. They had made love all night, and now that the sun was up, she could really survey the damage to her bedroom. It was destroyed. Multiple cracks in her wall, her bed was leaned, and the frame was broken, headboard destroyed. But she didn't care, they did what needed to be done.
"I love you, Penelope." She heard him whisper into her hair.
"I love you too, Sheldon."